Terrified Shelter Dog Comes Out Of Her Shell When She Makes A Friend

It’s incredible what a big transformation can be made with just a little love.

Zelda was abandoned at Pet And Wildlife Rescue (P.A.W.) in Chatham-Kent, Ontario overnight. She was tethered to a pole, riddled with fleas and in overall bad shape. According to BlackburnNews.com, she was so severely underweight that her entire ribcage was visible through her skin.

When a shelter employee tried to untie her, she became aggressive and wouldn’t let anyone close enough to free her.

P.A.W. did eventually manage to untie Zelda from the pole and get her into a kennel, but that was the only progress they were able to make that day. Zelda was extremely fearful of people, shaking and growling the moment anyone approached her. Rescue worker and foster mom Chantelle Kuhn told BlackburnNews.com,

“It took us a couple of days before we could pet her or do anything. We flea treated her, which was even a challenge to get near her. We slowly tried to rehabilitate her with treats. She eventually came up to us, but before we had to just put food and water in the cage because she didn’t want to come out to see us.”

P.A.W. was patient and gave Zelda the time she needed to come around and understand that they were there to help her. But it wasn’t time she needed so much as a friend. The rescue tried introducing her to a playful dog, hoping that it would bring her out of her shell.

“As soon as we introduced her to another dog she just flipped like a switch. She just gained so much more confidence and got so much happier.”

When Chantelle saw that Zelda enjoyed being with other dogs, she decided to foster her and introduce her to the two-dog pack in her home. Zelda was much more comfortable with her new dog friends than she was with the humans in the house. At first, Zelda would only approach Chantelle and her boyfriend if the other dogs were with her. But after awhile she let go of her fear and allowed herself to become a real part of the family. So much so, that she became their foster fail!

“She went from this dog that was scared and shaking all the time to one of the goofiest dogs I’ve ever met. It would break my heart to see her leave my house because she finally is so comfortable. She thinks my house is her home and we definitely consider her family.”